If only retailers were allowed to not offer parking (Decatur: rent, houses)

[ATLTJL]

Hey, remember what happened last time the city passed an exception to the parking rule?

Since many of you might be too young to remember, here's what happened last time we went down that road, yanked from Wikipedia:

To reverse a downturn in the Village during the 1980s, minimum parking spot requirements for bars were lifted, which quickly led to it becoming the most dense concentration of bars and clubs in the city.[6] These establishments included BAR, World Bar, Lulu's Bait Shack, Mako's, Clarence Foster's, Tongue & Groove, Chaos and John Harvard's Brew House. By 1996, Buckhead Village nightlife was comparable to "Mardi Gras, complete with nightly arrests, puking in the streets and [drunk] college girls."[7]

In the late 1990s, the clientele of some of the nightclubs and bars began to change from mostly white to mostly black, and illegal cruising on Peachtree Road became rampant.[8] Violent crime increased, culminating with two murders on Super Bowl Sunday in 2000. Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Lewis was implicated in the murders which occurred after he left the Cobalt Club at 265 East Paces Ferry Road. Lewis pled guilty to misdemeanor obstructing justice charges and his two co-defendants were found not guilty.[9]

Buckhead Alliance founder Robin Loudermilk claimed that there were at least ten murders during this period related to the nightlife in the Village.[7] Beginning in 2000, residents sought to ameliorate this situation by taking measures to reduce the community's nightlife and re-establish a more residential character. The Buckhead Coalition and councilwoman Mary Norwood were instrumental in persuading the Atlanta City Council to pass an ordinance to close bars at 2:30 a.m., rather than 4 a.m., and liquor licenses were made more difficult to obtain. Eventually, most of the Buckhead Village nightlife area was acquired for the Streets of Buckhead multi-use project and many of the former bars and clubs were torn down in 2007.

Perhaps worth pointing out that Buckhead Atlanta has plenty of parking in its decks. Not sure if they charge for it or if the retailers/restaurants validate.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by lethalhipster8

I think more developments should include free underground parking garages. I do agree that surface lots in urban areas are a pretty wasteful use of land.

Talk about raising the price of leases and pricing out small-independent businesses.
Another solution is shared parking, where existing lots can be used and the owner of the lot get a credit for allowing the public (non-customers) to use their lot to visit other nearby retailers?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Hey, remember what happened last time the city passed an exception to the parking rule?

Since many of you might be too young to remember, here's what happened last time we went down that road, yanked from Wikipedia:



Perhaps worth pointing out that Buckhead Atlanta has plenty of parking in its decks. Not sure if they charge for it or if the retailers/restaurants validate.

My hate for Norwood grows. Can't wait for her to come up for re-election!

[lethalhipster8]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Talk about raising the price of leases and pricing out small-independent businesses.
Another solution is shared parking, where existing lots can be used and the owner of the lot get a credit for allowing the public (non-customers) to use their lot to visit other nearby retailers?

I was referring to offering more underground parking in the city in general, not in individual developments.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by lethalhipster8

I was referring to offering more underground parking in the city in general, not in individual developments.

Who is going to pay for and build all this expensive underground parking?

[jsvh]

All of you obsessed with having parking provided to you everywhere are going to have to give it up. Atlanta has already tried the experiment. It failed. Time to move on and fix it.

Even downtown tried to go out of its way to require parking to be provided. It did not save them. Just helped drive more people out to the car-centric suburbs.




Flashback fotos: Atlanta from above, December 1965 | www.myajc.com

These areas don't look too much different today. Just emptier.

Time to let people have the choice to go car free again. The areas that do that are thriving.

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by jsvh

You prefer business in strip-malls, great. No one is trying to make those illegal everywhere. But stop trying to force your choice to drive everywhere on everyone and everyplace.

Wait...you can't walk to a strip mall? Why are you "forced" to drive?

[brown_dog_us]

Not requiring parking is great as long as there is a way to ensure that the cars are not parking in someone else's lot or on a residential street.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

Not requiring parking is great as long as there is a way to ensure that the cars are not parking in someone else's lot or on a residential street.

1. Property owner can request the car be towed (though you'd have to be a real dbag to park on someone else's property without their permission.
2. Neighborhoods can require residential permits (i.e. Inman Park and Midtown)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

Not requiring parking is great as long as there is a way to ensure that the cars are not parking in someone else's lot or on a residential street.

Parking on private property is one thing, but local, residential streets are public space and anyone can park there as long as they are following the parking laws; not blocking driveways, crosswalks, fire hydrants, etc.